Patriotism, Brexit and a firm stance on immigration led Labour to a crucial by-election victory - an MP masterminding the campaign has claimed.

But Labour must recognise that views in London are not shared by the rest of the country, said Jack Dromey.

He co-ordinated Labour’s successful campaign in the Stoke Central by-election, where the party saw off a threat from UKIP. Labour’s Gareth Snell was elected, beating rival candidate Paul Nuttall, the UKIP leader.

At the same time, Labour suffered a devastating loss in a by-election in Copeland, where it lost to the Conservatives.

Mr Dromey said voters in both Stoke and Copeland expressed “discontent” with the political establishment, and to some extent with Labour.

He warned: “Our task is not to allow those legitimate discontents to be hijacked by UKIP and the like. Our task is to become the champion of those who are discontented, disconnected and alienated.

“That means recognising that the politics of London are very different from the politics of Britain. Never allowing Labour somehow to sound like we’re sneering at these discontents. Our task is to hear them, understand them and act upon them.”

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Mr Dromey suggested Labour’s victory could have global significance, as it showed that a wave of right-wing populism sweeping the western world could be defeated.

“We had the world’s press there. It was extraordinary. There were 100 media outlets on the ground, from across Europe to America all the way to Australia.

“Because, from the Washington Post onwards writing up this by-election, the question was, is it a defining moment in the turning of the tide against that populism that has been sweeping through much of the western world?

“It is the first significant victory against that populist tide, which is immensely significant.

“I don’t want to overstate it. But when you get journalists from America and Continental Europe saying will you turn the tide in Stoke? I said yes we will, and we did.”

Labour must be patriotic and pro-Brexit to win

Labour’s campaign in Stoke included traditional left-wing messages, such as support for the local hospital.

But it also ran a “patriotic” campaign. For example, Labour candidate Mr Snell published a “Plan for the Potteries” setting out how Stoke and the surrounding area (known as the Potteries) could benefit from Brexit, and the document’s cover featured a pottery kiln and the flag of St George.

Mr Dromey said: “We took on what UKIP thought was their territory of Brexit, with a strong message that Britain will leave the European Union.

“On immigration and on national security.”

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He added: “We celebrated the patriotism that so many of the English working class feel about their country.”

Referring to businessman Aaron Banks, a major UKIP donor, he said: “When Aaron Banks said last Friday ‘they stole our territory’, we plead guilty. We were not going to allow them to paint themselves as the champions of Stoke and the champions of England when theirs is an approach that simply seeks to demonise and to divide.”